An Accidental Summons
by Boby335
Summary: Seeing Kakashi use the summoning jutsu on trip back from Wave Naruto attempted it. Sending him to Mount Myoboku the blonde genin meets the toads! Now armed with a summoning contract The Number One Hyperactive Knuckle-headed Ninja strives to become Hokage!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Mount Myoboku**

The road back to the Konohagakure was long and boring, at least to Naruto Uzumaki. The spiky, blonde haired ninja was sighing quietly, but loud enough for his Jonin Sensei to hear. This had been going on for over two hours now and both his teammates, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, had their patience worn thin.

The silver haired Jonin with gravity defying hair was busy reading the newest book from his favorite series of _romance_ novels. He had been tuning out his energetic student for a while now, but even he had limits, "Yes, Naruto?"

"Can you teach us some new jutsu?" The student asked his teacher, "I mean it's cool that we learned how to climb trees, but I want to know more!"

Naruto's raven-haired team and the last loyal scion of the Uchiha clan spoke up, "That boy, Haku, pretty much had us beat and he was our age!" It irked Sasuke that he had been totally outclassed, "It would also shut Naruto up."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted in protest.

Sakura looked between the two, feeling a little uneasy, "I think they're right."

Kakashi looked between his three students, all the while quietly thinking, ' _Lord Third, would be a little annoyed at us being late, but this mission was a wakeup call._ ' For the first time in hours he finally put down his book, ' _These kids will need to learn something new._ '

Sasuke was strong, and he had just awakened his family's bloodline, The Sharingan, but he needed to work out some kinks. Naruto had a pretty good handle on using the shadow clone jutsu, henge, and kawarimi. That was it for him though, he needed a bigger jutsu repertoire and probably work on his taijutsu. As for Sakura, well, she needed the most work out of his team. A genjutsu with her chakra control.

He would have to send word to the Hokage. Biting his thumb, Kakashi went through a series of hand signs, _Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram,_ "Summoning Jutsu!" A puff of smoke revealed a small pug with a bored look.

"Whatchya need, Kakashi?" the pug, Pakkun, spoke to his summoner.

"I need you to deliver a message to Lord Third, my friend." As Kakashi relayed his message to the pug an idea crept up into his hyperactive student's head.

Naruto followed his sensei's example and bit his thumb and went through the proper hand signs, "Summoning Jutsu!" however instead of a dog appearing, or any animal, for that matter, in a puff of smoke Naruto simply disappeared.

"Naruto!" Kakashi was shocked that the boy had been dumb enough to even attempt a jutsu like this without even thinking.

His other two students were even more shocked, "Sensei, what happened to Naruto?" Sakura asked. Of course, she had heard of the summoning jutsu, but this was new to her!

"Without a summoning contract any ninja trying to use the summoning jutsu will be brought to the realm of whichever animal they have a natural affinity for!" Sasuke explained. He himself had looked into getting himself a summoning contract, but this was crazy, even by Naruto's standards!

Kakashi looked down at his summon who seemed to shrug, "Sasuke is right. That boy is truly unpredictable!" He didn't know how to feel, however, he figured that only one animal had the closest affinity for his student, "Pakkun, instead of sending a message to the Hokage I need you to track down Jiraiya of the Sannin."

"Lord Jiraiya, eh?" Pakkun thought, "I need something to track him with, Kakashi." The jonin held down his book to his ninken.

"This copy of Make Out Paradise is the original copy and it was signed by Lord Jiraiya!" Kakashi seemed awfully proud of that, too proud for Sakura's liking.

' _Pervert!_ ' Both of his students thought.

The pug took a good, long sniff of the book then looked towards the north, "I have his scent!"

"Tell Lord Jiraiya that Naruto has gone missing through means of the summoning jutsu!" Pakkun nodded and took off, "Well, let's go report to Lord Third of our mission and this!"

"But sensei what about Naruto and why do you think Lord Jiraiya would know what to do?" A myriad of questions was still meant to be asked, but Sakura could only get out a couple before Sasuke stepped forward.

"Why not go to the Hokage?" Sasuke wondered aloud, "How could Jiraiya of the Sannin be able to help find that dumbass?"

"Lord Jiraiya knows more about summoning then I'll ever know." Kakashi deflected, "While it would be smart to inform the Hokage of this development I doubt even he has the contacts that Lord Jiraiya has. If the toads don't know then someone he knows might have an idea where Naruto might be."

Sasuke seemed to accept this answer. He shoved his hands in his pocket then started walking again, "What animal do you think Naruto is aligned with?"

"My guess is an anteater!" Sakura replied, "Have you seen how he inhales ramen?" She soon followed her teammate, leaving Kakashi in the dust.

The jonin gave a small chuckle before looking off in the direction Pakkun went and sighing, ' _The Hokage is going to have my balls!_ ' He morbidly thought and went on his way.

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"I guess it didn't work, Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto said, but when he didn't hear his sensei he looked around. He saw that he was in the middle of a small house near a table where two toads sat in wooden chairs. They looked to be quite old with one have grey spiked up hair and a grey goatee while the other had a wrinkly face. both were wearing dark colored cloaks, and both looked flabbergasted, "H-Hello?"

"An odd time to visit, don't you think lad?" The toad with the goatee asked.

Naruto bowed, "Sorry, but I don't even know where I'm at!"

"Mount Myoboku," The second toad croaked, "It's quite rude to interrupt a quiet lunch, you know?"

"Again, I'm sorry!" Naruto just kept glancing at the two, "I tried to use the summoning jutsu, but I ended up here!"

"Interesting, just like Jiraiya-boy!" The male toad exclaimed, "My name is Fukasaku and this is my wife Shima! We are the toad sages of Mount Myoboku."

Naruto glanced out the window and saw other toads of all shapes and sizes hopping about in their day to day lives, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage!"

The blonde genin shouted out, but he was immediately hit in the back of his head by Shima, "Don't go causing a racket in my house!" She scolded the boy, "Now let's look him over, Pa!"

Both toads hopped back, inspecting their guest with eyes sharpened over hundreds of years. It was an odd experience for the boy, however, to him it wasn't a bad experience, "He's kind of scrawny."

"Also, a bit short, Ma." Pa replied.

"I can sense the Nine Tails sealed within him too!" Ma nearly shouted.

"Interesting, I think we need to test him!" Pa hopped up on Naruto's right shoulder while Ma hopped up on the left, "Naruto-boy, I think we'll let you sign our summoning contract, but before we do we need to test you!"

"A test?" The blonde boy began to sweat, "But I hate tests!"

Shima figured worked it out that Naruto thought it would be a paper test, "Worry not, young'un, you won't be writing, but you need to keep that nervousness for this test!"

"Bunta-Boy!" Fukasaku croaked loudly as they walked out into the humid air. It was hot, but not uncomfortable and a musty smell floated about. Mud buildings were surrounded by mushrooms and Lilly pads standing high in the air. In a flash a giant toad with a red tint and a scar over his left eye sped towards them.

He had a tanto at his waste and a pipe in his mouth, "Whatchya need boss?" His booming voice called out, "And who's the brat?"

"This is Naruto-Boy! He accidently reversed summoned himself here after attempting the summoning jutsu!" Shima explained to the oversized toad.

"Just like that bozo, Jiraiya!" Bunta's laugh was deep and throaty, "My name is Gamabunta, and I'm the boss toad!" A puff of smoke came out as he spoke.

"If you want to become one of our summoners you need to stay on Bunta-Boy's back for an entire day!" Fukasaku told the young Genin.

"What?" Nervousness had overcome Naruto as he looked up at the intimidating figure that stood proud in front of him. Gamabunta bent low so that his eye was looking over Naruto.

"Worry not, Naruto-Boy, Bunta-Boy looks rough, but he's a sweetheart!" Shima proclaimed. Gamabunta grunted, but said nothing, "We can begin whenever you want to."

"Do you have any ramen?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"You're right, you need a satisfying meal in you before we begin!" Fukasaku said, "Ma, can you fix Naruto-Boy a plate?"

"Sure can!" The two toads hopped off the boy and began their trek back to their house, "Come along Naruto-Boy!" Naruto celebrated at the idea of food, yet he didn't realize that toads and humans have different ideas of food.

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Off in a distant part of the country tall shinobi dressed like a kabuki dancer with white hair was walking along humming to himself. He looked at road ahead with a carefree attitude thinking of the women he would see in Tanzaku Gai. A perverted grin broke out on his face, maybe he'd even see a certain busty blonde gambling, "Excuse me." A deep voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Who's there?" The man asked.

"Lord Jiraiya, down here." Jiraiya looked down to see Pakkun the pug sitting down, "I bring a message from Kakashi."

"Kakashi, eh?" Jiraiya crouched down, "If that brat wants a copy of my new book early, he'll have to wait a few months to buy it!"

The pug shook his head, "No this time it's serious." Pakkun related the events of what happened with Naruto, "I'm headed home now." With a puff of smoke, the pug disappeared back to his home.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes and exhaled, "Damn brat. Summoning Jutsu!" In another puff of smoke, a small red toad with green goggles popped into existence, "Lord Jiraiya, it's an honor to be summoned by you!"

"Hey, Kosuke, has there been someone reverse summoned to Mount Myoboku?" Jiraiya hoped he was right about Naruto, but had to be sure.

"Yeah, some blonde boy popped into the Lord Fukasaku and Lady Shima's house six hours ago! He's trying to stay on top of Gamabunta right now to become one of our summoners!" The toad excitedly explained. He seemed to be happy about there being a new possible summoner.

"Figures," The Sannin began, "Can you reverse summon me to Mount Myoboku, so I can see this boy?"

"Can do!" Kosuke grabbed onto his summoner's pant leg then slammed his palm on the ground. In a flash the once travelled forest path was now empty again.

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In a lavish office sat a diminutive old man smoking a pipe. He wore fine silk robes and a hat that read _third_ in kanji. He had to admit that he felt years older when his subordinate, Kakashi, tell him of Naruto's attempt to summon, "Even when he's out on a mission that boy gives me a headache."

"I understand that, sir." Kakashi let out a deep sigh, "I sent one of my summons to tell Jiraiya of this, though!"

"You're still in deep shit, Kakashi, I hope you know that!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was laid back, but now was not that time. It was no secret that the old Hokage had taken a liking to Naruto, he even forgave him most times for his pranks, "You better hope to hell that he is with a friendly summons animal rather than a dangerous one."

"Yes, sir." Both of them seemed to keep quiet for a long time.

Sarutobi finally sat back down in his chair, "While I won't count this against you this time, this will be remembered in the coming months if you hope to enter the Chunin Exams."

Kakashi went to leave the Hokage's office, however a thought popped into his head, "Would it be possible to take my team into training ground forty-four for a month?"

A puff of smoke rose from the old man's pipe, "Taking a rookie team in there for a month to train?" Hiruzen asked rhetorically. To put the last loyal Uchiha and Nine Tails Jinchuriki in that forest was risky, however if Kakashi put his all into it he could get his team to be the strongest rookie team of this new generation of ninjas, "Come back in a day or so and I'll let you know my decision. On a lighter note your team has a few days off!"

The meeting ended soon afterwards with Kakashi jumping out the window. This left Hiruzen to ponder on Kakashi's request, ' _Maybe it's time to let Jiraiya train Naruto.'_

His thoughts were pushed to the side as the aging Hokage heard the sound of a tapping cane and soft footfalls, "What brings you to my office, Danzo?"

A man with short black hair and a bandaged right eye. His right arm was wrapped under his kimono and he walked with a short limp, "When a village loses their Jinchuriki it is a state of crisis for that village, but here we are, merely standing around talking."

"Worry not, Danzo, Naruto will return soon." It was always tense when these two aging titans met, "If you just wish to criticize how I run the village you may leave." The Hokage didn't have time for the likes of Danzo today. Danzo smirked then sat down, "Please, sit down then."

"Sarcasm is beneath you, Hiruzen." Danzo pulled out a simple piece of paper, "I come to offer you some intel a guard of mine came across not too long ago."

A chuckle escaped from the Hokage. He knew that Danzo didn't have any personal guards, "What did this _guard_ have to tell?"

"A former student of yours has found himself a new hole in the ground." Hiruzen's eyes went wide, "If you recall the Land of the Rice is to the north. Recently, however, a new village named Otogakure seemed to pop overnight, and the country soon changed its name to the Land of Sound."

The aging Hokage turned his attention to the window, "Orochimaru is on the move?"

"It appears so." Danzo got up from his chair, "Should I hear anymore I'll send it to you."

With that the meeting between the God of Shinobi and the Shinobi of Darkness came to an end.

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The earth shook with every jump from Gamabunta leaving the residents of Mount Myoboku a little shaken. Fukasaku and Shima had been watching for a few hours now with small smiles, "The boy's determined, I'll give him that."

"How long has he been at it?" The voice of Jiraiya cut in.

Shima turned her head, "Good to see you, Jiraiya-Boy!" She turned back to Gamabunta, "As for Naruto-Boy, he's been at it for six hours now."

"You going to let him sign the contract then?" Jiraiya was beginning to be intrigued by Naruto.

Fukasaku sighed looking on as Gamabunta continued to furiously buck. He then focused his sight on Naruto and found fatigue had begun to set in in the boy. He was reminded of Jiraiya back when the boy was young, "He reminds me of you in many ways; knuckleheaded and stubborn." The diminutive toad began, "He'll make a perfect summoner, what do you think, Jiraiya-Boy?"

"Well, he's no Minato, that's for sure, but I like knuckleheads like him!" A wide smile broke out on the sage, "While I am proud to have taught Minato, I always find that training brats like Naruto to be more amusing!"

Gamabunta was getting frustrated at the boy on his back, "Get off my back you little scamp!" Landing back on the ground he waited for a moment before jumping as high as he could, "Let's see if you can stand this!"

Naruto had been having a hell of day. First, he had eaten a plate of grubs then he was put on the back of this Boss Toad! It had been hard enough at first, but now it was damn near impossible to do. He had tried to apply what he had learned from the tree climbing technique to this, however, that didn't last long as the toad's skin constantly shifted.

As Gamabunta jumped he felt himself being crushed by the sheer power of going straight into the air. He slowly fell towards the toads happi vest. Naruto grabbed on just as the boss toad began to fall again. His vision became blurry, his body started to relax, and before Naruto knew it he had lost consciousness.

"Seems it's over!" Shima was the human boy's side in seconds, "Thanks, Bunta!" She used the body flicker jutsu and appeared before Fukasaku and Jiraiya.

"Anytime, ma!" Gamabunta cried out as he leapt further away to meet up with Gamahiro and Gamaken, ' _That boy seems troublesome, but I think I can make him into a good henchman one day!_ '

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Kakashi and what remained of team seven were all gathered around a table in one of the many restaurants around Konoha getting ready to dig into some lunch, "After talking with the Hokage about our current situation it's been decided that Team Seven is now on leave for a few days!"

Kakashi tried to get a read on Sasuke, but the boy seemed to be irritated, "What will we do when that dumbass comes back?"

"That's simple; we're going to train!" Kakashi cheerfully replied.

Sakura looked up with a hopeful smile. She had been meaning to start revving up her training, "You really mean it?"

"Of course, however, I wouldn't get to excited, Sakura." The mood shifted as Kakashi closed his eye, "I have asked the Hokage to allow us to train in Training Ground Forty-Four."

"You mean the Forest of Death?" The Uchiha looked intrigued.

"Yes, if I get the go ahead we'll be spending a month in that forest." Kakashi handed his two students their checks from the mission, "After this you two better go rest!"

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Naruto felt a bit odd as he slowly opened his eyes. His jumpsuit had been taken off with his boxers and t-shirt remaining. The room he was in was small with only the distinct sound of toads croaking being heard, "I see you're awake, kid!" An unfamiliar gruff voice caught Naruto's attention, "When I heard some punk had come to Mount Myoboku I was intrigued, but now, not so much."

Naruto looked to see Jiraiya sitting cross-legged beside him on the floor, "Who the hell are you, geezer?"

"Geezer?" Standing on his feet Jiraiya took an epic pose, "Born a man, but raised to be a legend! Women want me, and men want to be me! I am the Gallant Jiraiya!" A prideful grin broke out on the older man while Naruto clapped, "So you have heard of me!"

"Nope, but that was an amazing!" Jiraiya's pride was hurt a bit.

The Sannin slowly sat back down, "Anyways I came here to bring you back to Konoha."

Naruto smiled at this. However, as he smiled he remembered his deal with the toads, "Oh crap! I failed their test!" The boy continued to freak out until he heard the croaking laugh of Fukasaku. He walked in the room carrying an oversized green and orange scroll.

"Worry not, Naruto-Boy, you lasted a long time on Bunta's back!" The toad hopped up on the bed with a grin of his own. Fukasaku unrolled the large scroll carefully, "This scroll is the contract we have our summoners sign. See this is Jiraiya, the next is your Fourth Hokage, and this blank spot is for you!"

The enthusiasm in the room was palpable, "Bite you finger and sign in blood, Naruto-Boy, and you can summon us at any time!" Not even worrying about the pain Naruto hurriedly signed his name. while he didn't notice any change, he had a feeling of pride swell up in his chest, "Now you'll need some practice, but when you're strong enough you can summon any of us!"

"Alright, Naruto, it's time to go." Jiraiya stood up and grabbed onto the boy. Kosuke the messenger toad ran in with a huff, "Ready to go?"

Naruto looked down, "Where's my jumpsuit?"

"Right here, Naruto-Boy!" Shima hopped in holding the stitched-up suit along with another gift. It was a small sash with the kanji for toad on it. Giving the boy a small hug she started, "Wear this with pride!"

This was a first for the boy. He had never been on the receiving end of gifts like these thus he had no idea of where to put this on his jumpsuit, "I don't…"

"Kneel down, lad." Naruto followed Shima's instructions. The toad thought for a second, "Here!" She wrapped the sash around the genin's right arm. Though only Fukasaku could see it, Jiraiya had a soft smile on his face. it warmed his heart.

He then remembered what he had been wanting to tell Jiraiya, "Oh yeah, Jiraiya-Boy, you need to come back soon to finish your sage training!"

Wanting to change the subject quickly he motioned towards Naruto, "Ready to go now, Naruto?" Naruto nodded, "It's been fun catching up, Elder Sages, but I must leave now!" Kosuke grabbed onto the two humans and in an instance, they were gone.

"Jiraiya-Boy sure is stubborn!" Shima told Fukasaku before hopping off towards the kitchen.

' _I have a feeling the next few years are going to be interesting!'_ The elder sage followed after Shima soon after.

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The Third Hokage was busy reading about the resources found in Wave Country and found that clearing Gato's company, simply named Gato Company, narcissistic bastard, from the board had been a boon for Fire Country. He would send a message to the capitol with a suggestion to ally with the newly freed wave country.

With their resources and trade routes it would bring extra funding to the village, "I'll have to make sure Team Seven is given a commendation for this."

Before he could continue a small explosion of smoke appeared, "Hey, gramps, I'm back!" That voice was clearly Naruto.

"It's good to have you back, Naruto!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: One Month of Hell**

"It's good to have you back, Naruto!" The Third cheerfully said as he looked at the resident prankster, "Judging who you're with it seems that you met with the toads?"

Naruto gave of a wide smile, "Yeah! They let me sign their contract!" He showed off his new sash proudly. Hiruzen just smirked the whole time, "Guess that means I have something over you, old man!"

The smirk grew on the Hokage's face as under the desk he weaved the hand signs for the summoning jutsu. Wordlessly he summoned a small monkey. It wore a small head band around his waist that had the kanji for monkey on it, "Send word to Kakashi Hatake that his student has returned from his little adventure." The monkey jumped out the window with a screech, "I think it'll be a few years before you'll have _anything_ on me!"

Flabbergasted, Naruto sat back in a chair, "Well I better get going then." Jiraiya went to follow the monkey, but Hiruzen held up his hand.

"We need to talk later, Jiraiya." The toad sage nodded, relaxing against one the pillars in the office. Hiruzen's attention turned back to Naruto, "When your sensei returned he asked to take your team on a month-long training trip."

"Really?" Naruto perked his head up, "Where to?"

"Why here in the village, to a training ground usually reserved only to Jonin." The Hokage began to tell Naruto of Training Ground Forty-Four, "It's called the Forest of Death, and let me tell you, Naruto, it lives up to its name! Poisonous plants, killer bugs, giant animals; it's guaranteed that if you spend a month in there you'll come out stronger!"

The genin was now completely enthralled by this forty-fourth training ground. First signing a summoning contract then getting the chance to spend a month in a dangerous place to train, "How did I get so lucky?"

"Because that's just your dumb luck, Naruto." Naruto looked over towards where the voice was coming from and found Kakashi perched on the windowsill, much like a bird.

Letting out a big grin the student greeted his teacher, "Hey there, Kakashi-Sensei!"

"Hey back, my long-lost student!" Kakashi stepped down, noticing Jiraiya, "It's good to see you, Lord Jiraiya." A respectful nod came from the Sannin. Looking between the Hokage and Jiraiya he read the room. He went to grab Naruto, but stopped, "If I heard right, it seems that you'll allow me to take my team to the Forest of Death?"

"Yes, come back tomorrow and we'll iron out the details." Replied Hiruzen, "Naruto, if you'd like we can go grab a bowl of ramen later tonight, I'll bring Konohamaru and you can tell us about the Land of Waves!" Naruto nodded before being grabbed by Kakashi. In a flash the two were gone.

Hiruzen twitched a finger and five fingers flashed from the room while simultaneously closing every window and every door, "What's got you all riled up, Sensei?"

"Otogakure and its possible connection to Orochimaru." The temperature of the room dropped as Jiraiya tensed up, "A day ago Danzo came in with some intel that the Land of Rice had recently changed to the Land of Sound with a new village instantaneously coming into existence." Hiruzen looked at his last loyal student, trying to read him, "Other than few sightings of Orochimaru around the Land of Rice we have no definitive way of knowing if this information is true or not, have you heard anything in your travels?"

"I've got nothing on Otogakure, but _I_ have a question for you, Sensei." Jiraiya set a small scroll on the desk, "Have you heard of the Akatsuki?"

Hiruzen thought for a moment, "I had heard that old gnome, Onoki, had been using the Akatsuki on a few high-risk missions, but other than that I haven't heard much."

"It's a group of S-Rank missing nin who's been cornering the market on S-Rank missions, but that isn't the best part!" Unrolling the scroll the picture of the traitorous snake Sannin was revealed, "Until two years ago Orochimaru was a member. Seems the slippery bastard had a falling out!"

"This is… disturbing." Honestly it was scary enough with a someone as powerful, and evil, as Orochimaru leading a village, but to have him mixed up in a group that housed other missing nin that were just as, if not more, powerful than him, words couldn't describe how he felt, "I want anything you can dig up on this Akatsuki on my desk when you return, but I also need as much information on Otogakure as possible before the Chunin Exams begin!"

Jiraiya let out a sigh, "I don't know how much I can learn in two months," The toad sage started, "However, whatever I can find on this village I will. As for the Akatsuki, they cover their tracks well!"

"One more thing, Jiraiya." Hiruzen sent out a flash of chakra and the room was once again open, "If Naruto enters _and_ makes it to the third round of the Chunin Exams would you like to train him?"

A small smile appeared on the toad sage's lips. It was barely noticeable to the naked eye, it could also be described as hopeful, "I would like that!"

"Good!"

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"So, you signed the toad's contract?" Kakashi asked as the teacher and student walked the packed streets of Konohagakure, "That's really nostalgic."

"Nostalgic?" Naruto had his hands holding his head up, "What does that mean, Sensei?"

Kakashi blinked, although he soon remembered that he was speaking to a thirteen-year-old that wasn't the brightest tool in the shed, "It means that my sensei signed the very same contract and I'm feeling sentimental about it."

It amazed the genin that he was taught by someone who could summon toads, "Was it that Jiraiya guy?"

"No." A chuckle escaped from the silver haired jonin, "I was taught by the Fourth Hokage, Minato-Sensei, although Jiraiya _was_ my sensei's sensei!"

"Wait that goofball taught _the_ Fourth Hokage?" It seemed a bit surreal, "And you were taught by the Fourth? But you're weird as well!" Naruto's brain was going a hundred miles a minute, "Does that mean the Fourth was weird too!" An image of the regal Minato Namikaze giggling while he read Make Out Paradise much like Kakashi popped into his head.

The image also popped into Kakashi's head as well. He didn't want to laugh, but a small chuckle broke from his serious façade, "No, Minato-Sensei was actually a quiet man. He had this strange sense of calm about him."

"Really, but he was a badass!" The boy replied.

"Trust me, he was a badass, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have been calm." Kakashi turned the corner on the street that housed Naruto's home, "Take your beloved sensei, for example; completely calm, but I was actually an Anbu captain."

"Wow that's kind of cool, Kakashi-Sensei!" The two began to ascend the stairs to the boy's apartment building, "Maybe one day I can be like you or the Fourth!"

Kakashi wanted to say something to someone so hyperactive, however, he decided not to, "Good luck, Naruto." The jonin gave his student a genuine smile, although it couldn't be seen from under his mask, "Team Seven won't be going on any missions for the next two days. I'll come get you in when we head out to the Forest of Death."

Naruto nodded then went into his apartment with a smile. It truly felt nice to be home. He went to look back to his sensei, yet he was gone, ' _Damn he's sneaky!'_

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Lights slowly began to illuminate Konoha as the sun slowly set on the village. Children returned home for slumber, merchants slowly began to close their shops for the night, and the shinobi and kunoichi that had been watching the village in the day switched with those who watched it at night. Others still slowly made their way to the streets below, off duty ninja, couples, and friends that just wanted to get out and about.

It was here that Sakura could be found carrying a few bags from the grocery store. Even with though it had been a few days since the mission to wave the pink haired girl couldn't help, but feel as though she hardly contributed to the mission. It had been Kakashi-Sensei, Sasuke, and Naruto that had done the fighting while she had just sat back and protect the bridge builder, Tazuna.

What was the extent of her abilities? Sure, she could use the clone jutsu, body replacement jutsu, and the transformation jutsu, still though, it wasn't much. She could also use the basic academy taijutsu, she also was competent with weapons, and her chakra control was damn near perfect, well perfect for her age. She wanted more though!

On her way home she saw Kakashi walking towards her, reading his perverted book in public, as usual. As much as Sakura wanted to punch him for that she needed to talk to him, "Kakashi-Sensei!" The genin called out.

Kakashi lowered his book just to see his student waving at him, "Good evening, Sakura."

"Sensei, I want to get stronger!" She nearly shouted, startling a couple passersby. The copy ninja stared at his student, "I don't want to be weak anymore!"

"Why?" The question was simple, still the gravity of it seemed to send a shockwave through the genin, "Is it to impress Sasuke, to hold it over Naruto's head, or is there another reason?"

Sakura didn't know what to say to this. How could Kakashi dare to ask her that! Her fists tightened then loosened as she thought, "I'm frustrated, Sensei. I'm no help to Sasuke and ever since we left the academy Naruto has just been getting stronger!" The silver haired jonin face was as stone as he heard the girl, "But both of them risked their lives on our mission, all I did was hang back! I didn't fight, I didn't even get hurt, but Sasuke looked like a porcupine and Naruto was forced to fight that hunter nin all alone!"

Kakashi nodded, "Let me walk you home, Sakura." Sakura nodded and followed her sensei. She thought about why the jonin had asked her why she wanted to get stronger. It was very confusing. It didn't long for the two of them to be found in front of Sakura's home, "Two days and we'll move out. Be sure to bring enough provision to last you a month!" With an eye smile the jonin flashed away.

Sakura didn't even need to nod to her sensei. She merely walked in her house and closed the door.

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Silence. Silence, and the sound of steel hitting wood. Sasuke Uchiha was barely a genin and he already had a title, The Last Loyal Uchiha. Only he and his traitorous brother were all that remained of the illustrious Uchiha clan. One day he would find his brother as well as kill him thus avenging every soul slain by the missing nin.

Having finally unlocked his Sharingan was just the first step. He couldn't rest on his laurels, however, he needed to keep pushing himself. He needed to go beyond his limits if he were to catch up to the prodigy, Itachi, "You know I told you to rest for a few days, right?"

Sasuke looked up in the tree he had been throwing shuriken at with a grimace. Kakashi was standing on one of the limbs, "I can't afford to relax."

"Sometimes we all need to just take a break!" Kakashi hopped down, "You can't just run your body into the ground, it needs to rest or else all the work you've done will have been for nothing." The jonin stood perfectly still as Sasuke put away his remaining shuriken, he also deactivated his clan's legendary Dojutsu.

"Do you think the clan killer is resting?" The jonin could feel the rage that bubbled just under the boy's surface, " **No**! He's probably gotten even stronger then when he exterminated my clan!"

A sigh escaped from the jonin, "I have no doubt that Itachi has gotten stronger, but even a monster like him needs rest." Kakashi slumped down against the ground then leaned his back to the tree, "Why don't you go talk to Naruto?"

"He's back?" Finally, the rage began to ebb and give way to curiosity, "What contract did he sign?"

"Naruto signed the toad contract!" Pride sprung up like a wellspring within Team Seven's sensei.

Sasuke on the other hand felt twinge of jealousy at the fact that his teammate now had a summoning contract. This contract wasn't just any contract; however, it was the contract that was held by the legendary member of the Sannin, but also the Yellow Flash of Konoha, "Will Naruto be trained by Lord Jiraiya?"

"Not that I'm aware of, but it will probably happen in the coming year." Kakashi could already sense that that might incense the Uchiha scion, and was prepared for the worst, but merely heard Sasuke laugh.

The irony was palpable. Sasuke's laughter subsided eventually, "That just means I have to keep up my training.

"After you rest, Sasuke." Kakashi got up then walked towards the village, "Why don't we go grab a bite to eat?"

"I'm not hungry!" The Uchiha boy growled through his teeth. Unfortunately, he couldn't back up that growl as his stomach began to unleash its own growl, "Where?"

"Well, you have the choice of barbeque or ramen!" Kakashi didn't care either way, if he was honest.

Sasuke wasn't in the mood for barbeque, however, if he said ramen he would start sounding like Naruto, "I don't want barbeque."

Kakashi didn't want to push it any further than he needed to, he really didn't, "Maybe Naruto is starting to rub off on you." Maybe just a little. The jonin took the lead.

' _Damn!_ ' Sasuke cursed inside his head. He followed quickly behind his sensei.

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"Then this guy named Haku jumped out of the trees and knocked out Zabuza pretending to be one of those hunter ninja's!" Naruto was sitting on a stool in front of a counter with a bowl of miso ramen and two empty close to him. Beside him sat the Third Hokage, without his hat, and a small boy with chocolate hair, "Kakashi-Sensei collapsed, and we had to carry his lazy ass to Old Man Tazuna's house!"

"That's so cool!" The little boy, Konohamaru Sarutobi, nearly yelled, "More, tell me more!"

Hiruzen smiled at the two children before him. They were both his grandchildren, even though one wasn't even his own blood, "I would also like to hear about your mission, but please don't speak with your mouth full, Naruto!" He slurped some noodles from his own bowl, "It's quite rude."

"Okay!" Naruto continued on about training to walk on trees, which seemed to fill Konohamaru with envy, and about the final battle, "He had this weird jutsu, too!" He went into detail about Haku and the events that transpired. By the end of it Naruto seemed to be solemn, "Why did he have to die?"

"Our line of work forces us to see such thing, Naruto." The once jubilant dinner had gone quiet, "Just remember what that boy told you about those precious to you and having the strength to protect them."

"I will, gramps!" Naruto took on a determined look as he finished off his third bowl

"I will, too!" Konohamaru followed suit.

"It warms this old heart of mine to hear it!" Soon enough the Hokage finished his bowl as well, "In fact I've had so much fun tonight that I've decided to give you both gifts!"

"Oh boy, grandpa, what did you get me!" The younger Sarutobi was quite impatient.

"For you, Konohamaru, I'm gifting you your own staff!" The Hokage pulled out a small scroll and unrolled it. He soon released a small, wooden bo-staff, "During the evening I'll begin to teach you how to use it!" the young Sarutobi let out a loud thank you, he was extremely excited to learn from his grandpa, "As for you Naruto," He pulled out a different scroll, but unlike it being a sealing scroll this was a ninjutsu scroll, "This scroll holds the instructions to learn the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Is that like the shadow clone jutsu?" The genin asked.

"Yes, however it clones the shuriken you throw." He smirked, "This jutsu has saved my life on numerous occasions!"

"Good evening, Lord Hokage." A new voice cut in. The trio turned to see Kakashi leading Sasuke into the ramen shop, "You too, Naruto!"

"Hey there, Kakashi-Sensei!" The blonde genin called out. He then saw Sasuke, "You brought Sasuke?"

Kakashi had a look of faux surprise, "Oh my, Sasuke, are you following me around like a stray cat?"

Sasuke didn't even dignify that with a response, "I see you're in one piece, Naruto."

"And why wouldn't I be, Sasuke?" The Uzumaki glared questioned.

Sasuke sent back his own glare, "I thought one of those frogs would crush you."

"Toads and at least _I_ have a summoning contract!" Naruto shot back.

Sasuke wanted to argue more, but he felt a hand on his shoulder. Sarutobi was oddly reminded of Jiraiya and Sasuke when they were the same age, he didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Kakashi, on the other hand, just wanted to enjoy a bowl of ramen without listening to his two students bicker, "Calm down you two."

It had been a couple hours since Sakura's talk with Kakashi, but her mind was still running. Needing to breathe she had left her house once again for a quick walk around the village. It didn't take long for her to come across Ramen Ichiraku. She stopped when she heard a familiar laugh coming from inside the ramen shop.

She walked in to see Naruto was back and eating his fifth bowl of ramen while Sasuke was right next to him slumping over his third bowl. The Hokage was there holding his sleeping grandson while he conversed with Kakashi, "What the hell is going on here?"

All four shinobi turned to see the pink haired kunoichi standing there, pissed off, "You guys decided to get dinner as a team?"

Kakashi stared wide eyed at his student. Cursing under his breath he invited her in, "I forgot, oops!" He nervously smiled at her, "Why don't you come in now and have a bowl with us."

Sakura didn't know what to do so she just decided to come in the shop without much of an argument, "When did you get back, Naruto?"

"A few hours ago, Sakura!' He told her excitedly, "Look at this!" He showed her the sash given by the toads.

"Toads, like the summons Lord Jiraiya use?" She was genuinely surprised.

Hiruzen decided that it was time to take his leave, "I think I'll call it a night!" The Hokage picked up his grandson then started to walk away, "Goodnight, Team Seven." With a slight bow he left. Sakura was even more surprised to see the leader of their village inside a common ramen shop.

"What was Lord Third doing here?" She asked.

Naruto spoke up with noodles still in his mouth, "Oh, gramps came here with me to hear about our mission and Konohamaru tagged along!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, idiot!" Sakura's fist connected with the back of Naruto's head, "Why do you call Lord Hokage gramps anyways?"

Sasuke seemed to perk up a bit. Naruto on the other hand rubbed the back of his head, "He's always been gramps to me. Why change it now?" It seemed a bit odd that an outcast orphan would be close to the Hokage. Close to the Hokage, toads, it was a puzzle inside the Uchiha's brain that had been building since he had learned of the summoning contract that Naruto had received.

He wanted to learn just a little bit more, however decided not to, for now, at least, "Don't hit Naruto so hard, Sakura, he might what little brains he has left!" Sasuke joked, but at the same time it seemed to send a message to Sakura.

Naruto just growled, "Shut up, you bastard!"

The jonin's eye drooped a bit, "Not even reunited an hour and we're back to bickering." He said silently, although he had to admit he had grown use to this.

Sakura took a seat next to Sasuke with a small blush, "Sasuke, how was your day?"

"Good." Sasuke grumbled out.

The female genin sat down feeling a bit dejected from her crush's response. She ordered a bowl of salt ramen. Her attention turned to Naruto, "Hey, Naruto, I've always wondered why you keep saying you want to become the Hokage?"

Naruto turned to her with a smirk, "Because then people have to acknowledge me!"

"That's it?" She asked.

Naruto turned his attention away from his bowl of ramen to Sakura. He quietly smiled then turned away from her again, "Look at how many people love gramps, I want that."

It made sense, at least to Kakashi. An orphan with no idea of who his parents were and only two people that actually seemed to care for him in the village. The rest of the team seemed to quiet down with only sound coming from Naruto as he continued his assault on the noodles.

The tension was cut when the blonde genin finished his bowl of ramen and let out a giant burp, "Naruto, what have I told you about your manners!" The daughter of the owner of Ramen Ichiraku, Ayame, scolded Naruto.

Sakura internally wondered how many times that her teammate came to this ramen shop.

The night seemed to slow down as the genin went back to their bickering which evolved into the three of them trying to guess what the Forest of Death was like. Kakashi listened intently to them until they had decided to head home. The copy ninja was about to follow when he felt a hand grab his arm, "I hope you weren't about to leave without paying!" The good-natured ramen chef, Teuchi, was smiling at him.

"What?" Kakashi was handed a bill that had the price of thirteen bowls of ramen. Not only was he paying for himself and Sasuke, but also Sakura, Naruto, Konohamaru, and The Hokage, "But," He wanted to argue, however, he knew he couldn't. He handed the ramen chef a wad of ryo then left for his own home.

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Team Seven found themselves in front of the chain-link fence to the Forest of Death after a couple days of relaxation. The trees of the forest were huge, taller than any that could be found in Konoha, with a certain feeling of dread radiating from it. The shriek of some creature could be heard echoing through the forest.

All three had varying emotions just looking at the training ground. Naruto was antsy to get in there to start his training, Sasuke seemed unreadable, yet he gave of a sense of anticipation, and Sakura was a little scared, "What do you think that was?" Naruto finally asked his teammates.

"P-Probably just a bird!" Sakura nervously replied.

"That didn't sound like any bird I've ever heard." The Uchiha told the two.

Kakashi suddenly popped behind the genin of Team Seven, "That was probably one of the giant bugs."

All three screamed, though Sasuke would deny it, "What the hell, Kakashi-Sensei? Don't sneak up on people!" Naruto scolded his teacher. He wanted to slug the jonin, and Sakura seemed to agree with that sentiment.

The jonin looked down at his three students, "This is your last chance to back out now." The aura of determination that surrounded the genin gave Kakashi a bit of pride, "Once we go in there's no coming back for a month, are you brats ready?"

"Hell yeah, Sensei!" Naruto screamed. So sure, was he about this that he began to walk towards the training ground, leaving his team behind, "With this training I'm one step closer to being Hokage!"

' _I'm one step closer to Itachi._ ' The Uchiha thought to himself.

Sakura glanced at her two teammates, ' _Next time I won't be useless!_ '

The three passed through the gate, ready for anything to come.

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Team Seven had been walking for a hours when Kakashi signaled them to stop. Naruto furrowed his brow, about to ask why they had stopped, when they saw it. A bear the size of ten men lumbered past the team without a care in the world. If it noticed them, it didn't let on.

As soon as the large beast passed they continued on their way until they came upon a large tree root in the middle of a clearing. The way the root was positioned there was a small indent between said root and the cave, "Welcome to your home for the next month!" He knelt down to see if there was a sign that animals made their home here, "Sakura, begin setting up traps around this clearing. Naruto, I want you to create a few shadow clones and scout out the area, I want to know where the fresh water is. Sasuke, help me set up camp."

Another hour passed by and all three genin were sitting around their sensei, "For this month I will be teaching you independently for three weeks and the last week we will be integrating that training into team exercises, is that clear?" his students nodded, "Alright I brought you guys a gift!" He pulled out three sheets of paper, "Sakura, you're up."

"What do I do?" She asked her sensei.

"Just grab onto it and channel your chakra, the rest will be a surprise." He told her. Sakura nervously took the paper and began to channel her chakra into the paper. As she did the paper began to slowly crumble away, "Interesting, your chakra is aligned with the earth element."

Sakura excitedly let out a squeal, "That's really cool!"

"During the next three weeks we'll be starting to work with the earth element." He began to tell her, "I'll teach you a D-Rank jutsu and probably a genjutsu as well!" He turned his attention to Sasuke next.

Sasuke took the paper and, like Sakura before him, started to channel his chakra. Two thirds of the paper burnt to a crisp while the last third crinkled and cracked with electricity, "What does that mean?"

The silver haired jonin was surprised, " _That_ means that you have a strong affinity for the fire element, but also a minor element for the lightning element!" Very interesting, "Since you already know how to work with the fire element, we'll be working on channeling your lightening element." He had a couple jutsu prepared to teach him.

Finally, it came to Naruto. Taking the paper in his hand the Uzumaki started to do the same as his teammates. It was much like Sakura's paper with just a single element, however, instead the paper crumbling it became soggy, "Water?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, which means we'll be working on your water element, _and_ working out the kinks in your taijutsu, summoning jutsu, and working on that jutsu Lord Hokage gave you!" Kakashi told his blonde student, " **Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" Two copies of Kakashi appeared. One copy took Sakura into the woods, another took Naruto towards the source of water found earlier, and the original took Sasuke in the opposite direction of his other teammates, ' _Time to begin!_ '


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm trying to avoid doing author's notes, but since I got an overwhelming question of why I chose water instead of wind for Naruto's natural affinity. I chose it because water can change into many forms; ice, vaper, water, just like how Naruto has many forms. Water finds a way through any object, it crashes, it erodes, it cuts. Naruto finds a way through any object, just like water. That's why I chose water as Naruto's element.**

 **Expansion: Okay so I know people have been asking about Naruto's Rasenshuriken, and I know it's one of his best moves, but I'm already coming up with ideas of what to replace it with! On another note I know I said ice up above, but I was going for solid, gas, liquid, more explaining than saying Naruto will use Ice Ninjutsu.**

 **I apologize for any misunderstandings, I should of expanded more on my explanation above.**

 **Chapter 3: The First Week!**

Kakashi raised his hand to catch a punch thrown by Sakura, "You're too easy to read, Sakura!" The jonin viciously kicked his student in the stomach without a second thought, "If I wanted to, I could have ended your life just now!" The two had taken an acre of land which was somewhat barren of grass, but rife with rocky outcroppings as their training ground.

Sakura gritted her teeth tightly as she pushed through the pain. It had been a week since her solo with Kakashi had begun, and it had been one brutal day after another. _Ram, Tiger, Snake, Dog, Rat, Ox, Horse, Rabbit, Tiger, Boar, Snake,_ " **Earth Style Barrier!** " A wall of earth rose from the ground. Even before the wall finished growing she could hear either kunai or shuriken imbedding themselves in the wall.

Kakashi was fighting at a chunin level in terms of strength and skill with Sakura slowly growing in her own strength. She only had a few seconds before her sensei would continue his assault. An Idea flashed in her head, but she would need to buy time for it to work, "Don't begin daydreaming now, Sakura!" Kakashi told her from on top of the wall.

Throwing down a couple smoke bombs the genin jumped out of the plume, " **Earth Style Barrier!** " She pushed herself to pull up two more walls, surrounding her teacher. She then sent a multitude of explosive tags hurdling towards smoke. She used her jutsu one last time to enclose Kakashi within the fiery explosion.

She fell on her back trying to fill her lungs with air. Her eyes were closed so she failed to notice the Copy Ninja saunter over to her holding a kunai. Kneeling down he held the sharpened weapon to her throat, "That was a good plan, Sakura, but you need to make sure you keep track of your chakra levels." Sakura was kicking herself, "You don't have as much chakra as either of your teammates, so you can't fight like them!"

The genin slowly opened her eyes, "I had… no other way for the plan… to work…" She said through deep breaths, her voice was laced with disappointment.

Kakashi had to admit to himself that the reasoning was sound, "Instead of locking your opponent in a four-walled death trap, put up two walls then use **Demonic Illusion: Death Mirage Jutsu** , this will give you enough time to throw the explosive tags and end the battle."

The jonin stood up and offered his student a hand, "I'm happy that despite the occasional lapses in thinking that you're improving!"

"Thank you, Sensei!" Sakura beamed at the compliment.

"Let's go back to camp and rest." Kakashi told his student, who immediately replied with a grunt as she got up off the ground.

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Sasuke Uchiha was completely outclassed by his sensei, " **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!** " The Uchiha launched a giant fireball towards his opponent before leaping to another branch to escape the relentless pursuit of Kakashi of the Sharingan, ' _Not enough!_ '

The boy's Sharingan eyes spun around as he caught sight of a dozen shuriken flying his way. He quickly pulled out his kunai and blocked all the incoming projectiles. He finally caught sight of movement coming from below him, " **Lightning Style: Lightning Bullet Jutsu!** " The Uchiha took a deep breath then unleashed a hale of electric projectiles underneath him.

"You're so quick to act, Sasuke." Sasuke took a deep breath as he tried to find where Kakashi's voice was coming from. There had to be some genjutsu in play here, "If I had to hazard a guess of what you're thinking, ' _Where is that handsome sensei of mine?_ '" What was it with Kakashi? Was he, "Trying to get under your skin?"

Sasuke silently cursed as his head curved around to see Kakashi standing behind him smiling, "How?"

The smile fell, "I _was_ an Anbu captain for a few years!"

" **Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!** " Jumping back the Uchiha launched a flurry of fiery orbs shooting directly at his sensei. Sending the flames toward Kakashi Sasuke attempted to make an escape.

Glancing back, he saw that the copy ninja was gone. The last thing he felt before he was knocked out was his sensei's fist imbedded into his stomach. He tried to say a word, but found he couldn't even force a sound out, "We'll talk when you wake up, Sasuke."

It was an hour before Sasuke woke up. He was groggily trying to figure out where he was. The most he could figure out that it was on the ground, and that his pride had been hurt, "Kakashi-Sensei?" His voice was merely a mumble right now. A flask of water was tossed in his lap, "Thanks." He hurriedly opened the flask and greedily drank down its contents.

"As it stands, you are powerful, I'd say low chunin level right now." Every time the student and teacher had sparred it had turned into a battle of attrition that Kakashi always won, "For days now we've fought, and you seem to get better!"

"Thanks." It was simple, but held a good amount of pride in it.

Noticing this Kakashi chuckled, "Don't get cocky, kid." Sasuke looked up to his teacher with a questioning gaze, "You still try to overpower your opponent instead of trying to fight smart!" He admonished his student, "You mastered the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, but you use it as a distraction to get away, which is a good tactic, however, you should use it at the start of the battle. If you use it then you might be able to surprise your enemies and you'd be able to use another jutsu."

"But you know what's going to happen, sensei." Sasuke pointed out.

"I know, yet you need to treat this as if it were a battle against an enemy." Kakashi slumped down to his student's level, "I wonder what we'll have for dinner?"

"I hope it isn't bug tonight." The Uchiha replied.

"Let's go find out!" The jonin smiled and the two made their way back to camp.

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Kakashi had set a schedule for Naruto. Every other day he worked with the boy on the summoning jutsu, which was going very slowly, and his water manipulation. Today was one of the days the blonde genin worked on summoning jutsu, " **Another tadpole!** "

"Calm down, Naruto." It was frustrating, to say the very least. Every day they that Naruto tried summoning a toad it always turned out to be a tadpole that was summoned, "Take a deep breath, and let it out. Keep repeating that until your anger has subsided."

Naruto started to breath deeply, "Why am I having trouble with the summoning jutsu, Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Well, to put it bluntly, you suck with your chakra control, but how about I teach you how to walk on water?" Now that Kakashi thought about it, it would probably be best to teach the rest of his team, "Maybe if you have a bit more chakra control you'll be able to utilize the summoning jutsu to its maximum effect." Kakashi knew from being by this stream for the past week that there was a small pond downstream, "Follow me, Naruto."

The two walked for a few minutes until they came across a murky pond filled with the sounds of bugs and the occasional croak of a frog, "Now water walking is a bit tougher than tree climbing. You need to continuously emit your chakra, and you need to keep in tempo with the surface of the water."

"What?" Naruto asked his teacher, "Tempo?"

"If there is a wave you need to fix you chakra with the wave, got it?" The jonin told his student. It would be entertaining to watch how many attempts it would take for the blonde to get it.

Naruto walked slowly to the water then experimentally put his foot on the water. Using his chakra, he was surprised to find that it was a solid surface, but at the same time it wasn't! It was a really weird feeling to the genin. Taking another step Naruto could almost feel how deep the water was, "This is really," He stopped when a small ripple came across his feet, suddenly he was knee deep in muddy water, "Cool."

"Felt like a trip wire, didn't it?" The jonin asked his student.

Naruto nodded, "I think I can get it this time!" Once again, he took to the surface of the water with a shaky step, after shaky step. He crept closer across the water's surface until he fell into the deeper part of this pond, "Kakashi-sensei, I think I should've taken off my jumpsuit." The bright side was that his head was above this water!

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you!" Kakashi awkwardly laughed at the _mistake_ all the while his student slowly made his way to muddy shore, "Just take the rest of the day to practice the water walking exercise, Naruto."

"Alright!" Coming back to shore the boy took off his jumpsuit and tried yet again.

He didn't know how long it took him to get the hang of the exercise, however once he did Naruto was told to keep up it up until he couldn't any longer. It was a long and arduous day, but when it came down to it Naruto was completely devoid of chakra, "Time to get some dinner!" Kakashi told his student.

Naruto was down on his knees in the middle of the pond, breathing heavily. He didn't want to leave just yet, "I can keep going!" His voice was quiet, yet filled with the same determination that Kakashi had gotten used to. This time was different, though. If Naruto ended up using all of his chakra now he would undoubtedly tap into _its_ chakra.

"I don't think that it's a good idea to keep pushing yourself this hard, Naruto!" The jonin went out to his student and offered him a hand, but with the last of his strength the genin slapped it away.

Naruto slowly stood up, clearly warn out, "Do you think any of the past Hokage just stopped because they were tired?"

"You're right that all of the Hokage have pushed themselves to become truly strong, but they also knew their limits." Kakashi knelt down on the water, "You need to rest for tonight, and tomorrow we'll try the summoning jutsu!" Kakashi smiled as Naruto crawled up on his back.

The boy slumped against his teacher's back, "Let me down before we get back to camp, sensei." It went unsaid that he didn't want to be said by a certain person.

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Camp, as usual, was quiet. All three genin exhausted with barely enough energy to eat anything, let alone speak. Sakura had been the first to enter camp, so it was her turn to cook. Tonight's dinner was rabbit stew. When Sasuke had returned to camp all the pink haired girl could do was smile with drooping eyes.

For his part Sasuke just stumbled towards the boiling pot, hardly acknowledging his teammate's presence, "Naruto?" The Uchiha struggled to get out his teammate's name.

Sakura just shook her and watched the crackling fire, feeling a bit hurt. She turned to look at her crush and found he was doing much the same as her when it came to watching the fire. Their sensei's shadow clones had long since popped out of existence. Her thoughts drifted from Sasuke to Naruto and wondered if he would be brought back unconscious once again.

The silence was soon broken when the two saw Naruto slowly shuffling into camp followed by Kakashi, "Smells like rabbit!" The jonin had a childish look of pleasure as he knelt to inspect the pot, "A quick bowl then off to bed guys!" His order was met with varying degrees of exhausted grunts from his students

The first to fall asleep was Naruto, then Sasuke, and finally Sakura. The three left the waking world for the world of dreams, leaving their teacher to watch the three, ' _They're pretty quiet when they're asleep._ '

Off in the distance Kakashi heard the distinct sound of crows cawing, and felt a sense of dread. No, it couldn't be though. That man was long gone from the village, but still something seemed off in the village tonight.

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Far and away, in the Hokage's mansion, Hiruzen was in a simple brown kimono. He was looking over a calligraphy piece that he had recently finished while smoking from his pipe, "I've always found that no matter how much I practice my art I make mistakes." He spoke to the shadows in the room, "They remind me that I'm still human, even when people insist on calling me The Professor or The God of Shinobi."

The shadow he spoke to seemed to take a seat, "If all you called me here is to talk of art then I must say that this is time wasted." The shadow's voice was silky and seemed to be an extension of the shadows themselves.

The Hokage nodded, "I understand completely, but don't always be hasty."

"Time is not on my side so being hasty is in my best interest." Taking a seat, the shadow closed his eyes, "I'm guessing you've heard from Lord Jiraiya about the Akatsuki?"

"You are correct." Hiruzen moved to sit closer to the shadow, "A group of S-rank missing ninja gathering together, and I happen to find myself with one in my employ, how could I not summon him to ask if he had joined them?"

"And joined them I have." The shadow pulled out a bag of tea, "I bring tea from Lightning Country, Lord Hokage."

"Much appreciated, but tell me of this Akatsuki." Hiruzen took the bag and stashed it away for a better time.

The shadow sighed, "I can't tell you too much since if this gets out then my position will be tricky, but I can tell you a couple things."

"Don't leave me in suspense!" Replied the Hokage.

The shadow's eyes blazed crimson as his Sharingan spun around, "My partner is Kisame Hoshigaki of Kirigakure," The shadowy Uchiha began, "And it is led from the shadows by another surviving Uchiha."

"Another surviving Uchiha?" The Hokage began, "This is quite disturbing, Itachi, but if this group can recruit someone as formidable as The Tailless Tailed Beast disturbs me more." Hiruzen scratched his head, thinking of what to do before he absentmindedly said, "I think I should start training again."

Itachi's eyes closed for a second before letting out a deep sigh, "My time here is at an end, Lord Hokage." He got up from the position he was in then started to walk towards the door.

Hiruzen stopped him by holding up his hand, "Have you thought of my earlier proposition?"

Itachi grimaced then fazed out from the room. The head of the Sarutobi clan produced his own grimace in return as faced the empty room. Turning back to his piece of calligraphy to inspect it, ' _Still a mistake or two, damn these old hands of mine._ '

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Morning came to the Forest of Death; however, one couldn't really tell from the canopy above. The forest floor was dark with the leaves blocking any light, save for a few rays jutting here and there. Silence reigned over woods, yet that silence was a simple veil that hid a student and his teacher working as hard as ever, "Naruto, let's try again!" The cheerful voice of Kakashi told his student.

Naruto nodded, " **Summoning Jutsu!** " In a puff of smoke, a small tadpole appeared out of nothing. Yet unlike the past times the genin had tried to summon a toad and failed this tadpole had a set of legs.

Kakashi's smirk was obscured by his mask although it was quite obvious, "We've finally made progress!" Pride seemed to swell in his voice, "Just to be safe why don't we continue with the water walking exercise for another couple of days before we try again."

Time flowed slowly with Naruto as he struggled with his chakra control. It was an uphill battle with his amount of chakra, and that wasn't even counting the chakra of the Nine Tails that was sealed within him. If cultivated right Naruto would turn into a mighty shinobi, but if cultivated wrong his large chakra levels would only hinder him.

For a few extra days the boy kept up with his exercises. Even going so far as to wind up knocking himself out at the end of each day. Finally, the day came when he could try the summoning jutsu again, " **Summoning Jutsu!** "

This time in place of a tadpole a small rust colored toad popped out of the smoke with a disinterested look on its face, "Who are _you_?" It asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" The genin proudly told the toad.

"You don't look like much, do you, kid?" Replied the toad. Naruto looked down at it, slightly annoyed, "You should also know that I don't work for free, got it? If you need anything you need to pay me in snacks!"

The jonin looked between the tiny toad and his student, ' _Leave it to Naruto to summon a toad as troublesome as he is!_ "

"What's you name then?" Naruto asked with an annoyed tone.

"Name's Gamakichi!" The Toad, Gamakichi, proudly stated, "Do you even have any snacks?" Gamakichi asked suspiciously. Naruto, for his part, was nervously shifting in place.

He shuffled a bit, "Define snacks."

"I'm out!" Gamakichi started hopping away with a degree of disdain for his summoner, "Don't call me if you don't have any snacks!"

Kakashi watched the toad hop away, "You know, Naruto, I have never seen a summon act like that."

"Useless toad!" Finally mad, the genin went to scream at the toad, but said toad blew a raspberry at him in response.

"Useless summoner!" The two fought like this before the toad snickered and popped off back to Mount Myoboku.

Naruto on the other hand was frustrated by the first toad he had ever summoned, "How did I manage to summon a toad like that!"

It was time to teach Naruto about how to utilize the summoning jutsu, "Alright now that you can summon we can work on how you determine what you summon!"

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" The genin asked with a wide-eyed sense of curiosity.

Kakashi bit his own thumb then used the summoning Jutsu. In the smoke a small mutt came into existence, "This is Biscuit!" The dog nodded, "Now when using the summoning Jutsu you need to think of what you want to summon, instead of just using the jutsu." He explained, "This is why little Gamakichi came forth instead of another toad, why don't you try it again?" Kakashi then added his last piece of advice, "Don't forget to keep an image of a toad you want to summon inside your head!"

With that in mind Naruto slowly came up with an image of what he wanted to summon inside his head. The only toads he could image were those grandma and grandpa toads and that boss toad. That boss toad, Gamabunta, he thought his name was, was a really cool toad, " **Summoning Jutsu!** "

Gamakichi appeared again, "Leave me alone!" He dispelled himself from the forest without a second thought.

Kakashi got an idea in head, "Why don't you try gathering your chakra?"

The boy nodded then started gathering his chakra. To the jonin it was still utterly insane how much chakra this kid had. It swirled around the blonde genin quickly as he gathered all of his chakra as best he could. With the clear image of the boss toad in his head Naruto yelled out, " **Summoning Jutsu!** "

The earth began to shake underneath the jonin and genin. The smoke billowed out and filled the forest, obscuring the visibility around them. Slowly the two began to rise into the air, "Who the hell dared to summon me!" The deep, roaring voice of the boss toad asked, "Where are you, Jiraiya?"

"Hey, Boss Toad!" A voice called out from his head, "Its good to see you!"

Gamabunta sent tongue out and snatched the boy from his head, along with Kakashi, "You're that brat Pa wanted me to test, and you're one of Minato's brats, right?" The toad looked over the two, "Where's that fool, Jiraiya?"

"Lord Jiraiya, didn't summon you!" Kakashi nervously told the large summons, "Naruto did!"

The toad raised his eyebrow in skepticism. The thought of a mere boy summoning him was laughable, but considering that Jiraiya wasn't around meant that he might not be lying, "Fine, say that I believe you, why _did_ you summon me?"

"I was practicing the summoning jutsu, Boss Toad!" Naruto replied.

Gamabunta set the two back on his head, "Look kid, you may have earned the right to summon us toads, but to summon me you need to become my henchman!" The giant toad grinned.

"How do I do that?" This toad seemed kind of shady. The genin wondered what he needed to do to earn the right to be this toad's henchman, "Pay you?"

The boss toad's grin slowly turned into a deep belly laugh, "Pay me? You can't bribe me!" Gamabunta began, "What you need to do to summon me is share a cup of sake with me!"

"But I'm just thirteen, I can't drink!" Naruto yelled at the toad, "Come on just let me be your henchman already!" He whined. Kakashi seemed to be sidelined for now, however, his nostalgia in seeing the yakuza styled toad was palpable. Seeing Naruto summoning him was amazing in its own right, too.

"If you can't drink with me then you can't be my henchman!" The boss toad was stubborn, "You can summon Gamaken or Gamahiro, but if you try to summon me again without being my henchman then I'll put you in your place, you snot nosed runt!"

Naruto grit his teeth in frustration, "Even if I could drink, where would I get enough sake for you, Boss?"

"Tell you what, brat, if you come back with me to Mount Myoboku we can share a drink there!" Gamabunta chuckled, " **Reverse Summoning Jutsu!** " In a flash both Naruto and Gamabunta were gone, leaving a stunned Kakashi.

"Not again!" The jonin let out a groan. The only thing he could do now was wait for his student to be returned to him by the toads. Why couldn't this boy be a little less troublesome, like his other two students?


End file.
